The present invention relates to starting fluid injection systems for use with internal combustion engines.
Internal combustion engines, especially diesel engines, are notoriously difficult to start under low temperature conditions. As a consequence, various cold starting aids have come into widespread use. Among the most successful of these are starting fluid injection systems which inject a starting fluid, such as an ether based fuel, into the air intake passages of an engine during engine startup.
Commonly used starting fluid injection systems generally include an injector assembly having an injection orifice. Starting fluid is passed through this orifice into the engine. Since the orifice acts both (1) to restrict and meter the flow of starting fluid into the engine and (2) to form and direct the jet of starting fluid into the engine, certain compromises are inevitable. In order to obtain an orifice small enough to adequately limit the flow of starting fluid, it may be necessary to use only one or a small number of very small orifices. Small orifices are difficult to manufacture and furthermore, are subject to clogging due to foreign matter at the injector and ice formations. Furthermore, when only a few orifices are used, it may not be possible to achieve optimum distribution of starting fluid within the engine.